August 25, 2019: Jasprit Bumrah's Raw Pace Leaves West Indies in Tatters

Jasprit Bumrah’s Test career began in South Africa in January 2018 but it was almost more than a year later in West Indies that the young pacer seemed to have reached the peak of his career.

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By the time he landed in West Indies, he had five wicket hauls in South Africa, England, Australia. All this before he turned 26. All eyes were on him and Bumrah made an instant impact in Antigua. Chasing 419 for a win, the hosts were bundled out for 100 runs in the first Test match against India. Bumrah was the wrecker-in-chief. Take a look at his figures from the second innings. 8 overs, 7 runs, 5 wickets. Wicket almost every 10 balls.

This is how the demolition job began. He quickly removed the openers Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell to reduce the hosts to 10 for 2. Four overs later, he sent Darren Bravo’s stumps cart-wheeling. Next up was Shai Hope who lost his off stump to Bumrah, and with Jason Holder’s wicket, Bumrah’s demolition job was complete. Not only did his performance kept the fans engaged, his feats kept statistician busy too.

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With that performance, he became the first Asian to pick five-plus wicket haul while conceding less than 10 runs in a Test innings. He became the fastest Indian bowler to reach 50 Test wickets. It took him 11 Tests to do so. He also became the fifth Indian bowler who had achieved the feat of taking 5 wickets in a spell of less than 10 overs. What stood out for Bumrah in North Sound exactly a year ago was not his pace but his pinpoint accuracy. Along with his raw pace, the precision became deadly. Too deadly for Windies batters to handle. With Bumrah entering the peak of his fast bowling career, Indian fans are already salivating for what’s in store ahead for them.